man is considered brain dead after being shot by police. colorado detectives will attempt to link the incident. they are looking into a possible connection to the murder of pizza delivery man naython leon who was found shot to death in denver days before clements's murder. barack obama appeared to move closerer to the position of resuming long stalled peace talks with the palestinians. that suggestion came after a visit to the west bank where the president urged a return to the negotiating table. atiya abawi joins us now from jerusalem. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, betty. from a dusty jerusalem, president obama finished his second -- today receiving a e medal from president perez. that was following a speech he gave to hundreds of israeli university students, but that speech did not go by without at least one heckler.

>> given the ties between our countries -- [ shouting ] -- i believe your future is bound to ours. [ shouting ] [ cheers ] [ booing ] >> this is part of the lively debate that we talked about. [ cheers and applause ] this is good. >> reporter: president obama walked off the heckling and said he wouldn't feel at home without at least one heckler. today, his third day in the region, he started out by going to the tomb of the father of modern political zionism. then to the grave site of ysiak rabin who was killed for trying to bring peace to the israelis and palestinians.

he is on his way to bethlehem where he'll be greeted by mahmoud abbas and then to jordan for the last day in the region to talk to king abdullah of jordan. betty? >> atiya, thank you. as many as 42 were killed in the bombing of a mosque in the syrian capital of damascus. more than 80 people were injured in a terrorist blast. it's the first time a suicide bomberer detonated explosives inside a mosque. among the dead was a sunni preacher who was an outspoken supporter of assad. a major shut down has been confirmed for the third largest school district in the nation. chicago mayor rahm emanuel i announced thursday the city will plan 54 schools which is 8% of the district. the mayor called the closings a tough but necessary choice

citing many half empty public school buildings. opponents who turned out to protest said the closures will endanger students in troubled areas who may have to cross gang boundaries to attend classes. they think the closures will save millions. gun legislation set to hit the senate floor next month will include universal background checks. this according to harry reid who introduced the bill last night. he's vowing that any bill that passes the senate must include background checks. the most contentious part of the measure. reid promised votes on a proposed assault weapons ban and limits on high capacity magazines. the legislation aims to make gun trafficking a federal crime and strengthen safety measures at schools. yesterday john lennon was thrust into the gun debate. his widow drew attention to the cause tweeting a photo of her late husband's

blood-splatterered glasses from the day he was assassinated by a crazed lone gunman. time for a look at weather with bill kairn. tough to believe it's been 33 years. >> what a picture. morbid. >> it's chilling. >> let's talk about the forecast. yesterday we had cold air in place. we had just enough upslope that we had snow. it was a pretty scene. the roads weren't too bad out there. it's still pretty cold. there is a little bit of snow to be found this morning. just like the rest of the northern half of the country it looks like spring is on hold. you can see the flow from the northwest. it's a cold flow. you can see snow at higher elevations here. we'll watch as they go through the pass but otherwise we'll be okay. isolated showers in the valley areas. we are clear as could be through california and nevada. it is cold, no doubt about it. the chilly air moved now to

southern nevada through about half of the state of arizona. the temperatures this morning, we are at 32 in salt lake city. boise is below freezing. vegas is holding on for dear life. the cold air is to the north. northern california, it's a chilly start to the day. as we get sunshine in the afternoon we'll be nice. much of california, vegas, sacramento, san jose to l.a. and san diego. phoenix, one of the warmest spots in the country. one of the only spots in the country to get oh into the 80s. much of the nationhe northwest continues you will stay on the cool side. good news for the west. it looks to be a dry weekend. >> do you have a man cave at your house? >> i wish. >> i know. i'm not even a man and i wish i

had one. stick around for this story. it's amazing. >> all right. first though obama care is on the move. is your state one of the 26 that failed to meet obama care deadlines? plus, have you heard the buzz over american eagle's spray-on skinny jeans? it may be the ultimate man cave, bill. 7,000 square feet of space. oh, yeah. this is for the man in your life and it is for sale. "early today" is back in two.

welcome back to "early today." here are stories making news this morning. a new report says republican leaders in as many as 26 states are failing to make obamacare deadlines to connect uninsured residents to coverage. if states don't act the federal government will step in. there is a bill legalizing same sex civil unions that makes colorado the 18th state to allow some form of unions for same sex

couples. talk about being in the right place at the right time. a man in australia saved the life of a 2-year-old girl when he performed cpr on her at a supermarket. the baby's mother screamed for help when the toddler stopped breathing in the checkout lane. thankfully he was there. if you are feeling lucky this weekend you have time to pick up the winning powerball ticket before saturday night's drawing. i have to get mine. the jackpot is now $320 million. the sixth highest in powerball history and it is expected to grow. if you opt to take the lump sum, which i will when i win, you could walk away with just under $200 million. that's a nice thought. speaking of money, good news and bad as investors head for the final trading day of the week. major indexes posted biggest losses in over three weeks thursday. for the month, all three major u.s. markets are up about 2%. on thursday, cyprus inspired selling picked up despite b

jobless claims and another dose of good housing data. fortunately selling volume was below average. bankers continue to protest and panicked depositors flocked to atms. back on the street oracle's wednesday night spiral spilled over into yesterday's trading, knocking out $24 billion of oracle's market value in one day. billionaire cofounder larry el r lisson took a $3 billion hit. he's easily in one of the top spots as the third richest americans. good news for blackberry. the department of defense reports they are ditching blackberry for apple iphones are not true. american airlines is testing boarding procedures to allow passengers without carry-on bags to board ahead of folks in coach with roll-on bags. after the horsemeat scare

ikea said their meatballs are headed back to stores. american eagle -- okay -- gets props for the brilliant ad scheme spoking fun at the skinny jean craze by having a spray on can. 200,000 people were fooled into trying to buy that paint on spray online. who would wear e that? if you're in a market for the ultimate man cave check out this atomic bomb shelter for sale in florida. it is 7,000 square feet of solitude for yours truly. i would love it, too. it will cost you about half a mil. i'm not willing to spend that. the march madness bracket busters are next and bruce springsteen sheds sunshine on a fan. thinking about sending your weekend with "the croods"?

we'll tell you if it's worth it.

now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. a pennsylvania woman allegedly banned from the local family dollar for shoplifting came back with a peppery punch, shall we say. security video shows an altercation where the woman wrestled with and pepper sprays an employee. even worse the woman brought her

two young kids along and encouraged them to spray the worker as they were fighting. my goodness. all right. part of the west virginia interstate is closed after a rockslide this week spilled rubble onto the roadway. an engineer nearby videotaped the dramatic scene. no word on when the road will re-open. finally an ohio high school band was borrowed by iona college to play during their run in the ncaa tournament. since today don't have a traveling band of their own, they turned to this band to show pride. well, in an ironic twist of events iona will play ohio state and most of the band members are die hard buckeye fans. that could be a problem. in sports march madness is in full swing with close calls and big upsets in the ncaa tournament. harvard pulled off a shocking upset over 3 seed new mexico. 68-62. it is the first ever tournament win for harvard.

they are celebrating. number 12 seed california pulled off an upset of number 5 seed unlv stealing a pass in the closing seconds for a 64-61 win. oregon poured it on to number 5 oklahoma state 68-55. 3 seed marquette scored with a second left and barely survived to beat 14 seed davidson, 59-58. look at the shot. let's look at the brackets. mine are busted. here we go. louisville demolished number 16. louisville advances to face 8 seed colorado state and 6 seed arizona moves on to play harvard. the number 1 seed in the west gonzaga won a squeaker over 16 southern university. the zags will face wichita state as oregon plays 4 seed st. louis. number 6 seed memphis advanced after 11 seed st. mary's missed a buzzer shot.

memphis will face number 3 michigan state. also advancing, vcu and michigan. california will play number 4 seed syracuse. butler will face marquette and there are still 16 more games today. >> announcer: early today sports is brought to you by just for men mustache & beard, keep your edge. just ahead, it is a bed valued at $175,000. but can you get a good night's sleep on it? and rocker jon bon jovi is selling his pad. we'll show you what's inside. you're watching "early today."

welcome back as the storm that heads to the inner mountain west exits to the plains much of the west coast high pressure will dominate. that means tranquil conditions with cool mornings and nice afternoons. what you see is what you get. today will be similar to the next couple of days. a chance of showers in portland. we'll get rid of that through saturday and sunday. temperatures near 50 in the northwest. the warm spots in the desert. 81 in phoenix and 80 on sunday. relatively cool by california standards for this time of year. if it's sunny and not raining the way the rest of the country has been going, don't complain. >> not at all. if you want to complain go watch a movie. >> good idea. going to be a good weekend. >> it should be. it is going prehistoric. dreamworks, "the croods" stars nicolas cage, emma stone and

ryan reynolds and is expected to haul in almost $40 million thanks to the family friendly fare. fan dango has it trending ahead of "oz" and "olympus has fallen." and "the voice" will be returning and we wanted to know which of the t new judges you are more excited to see. most are pumped for usher but shakira isn't far beshiehind? >> i want to see shakira. >> and hugh jackman. >> guys say he's too big. >> he looks fine to me. >> he worked out three hours a day in preparation for his role in "les miserables." we can let this run over and over. the videos obviously show how all of his hard work fade opaid >> we have to show commercials

now and then. bruce springsteen made a young fan's night when he brought him up and helped him sing "waiting on a sunny day" and the they pulled off a fantastic stage slide. after being sentenced to 90 days in a locked rehab center lindsay lohan plans to shoot her guest shot on charlie sheen's "anger management." >> i'm betty nguyen. just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

the lead story this morning in the new york times is a story

about immigration. officials still seek ways to assess border security. they are still not sure of the standards even two years after a study was started. "time" has a fascinating story about a bed for the very wealthy. the royal bed, is it a good night's sleep worth $175,000? well, british bed makers save your beds creation is for the kind of people who spend, i don't know, $10,000 a night for a room. i don't know many of those folks. well, the buenos aires zoo welcomes four new additions. white bengal tigers born two months ago are finally making their first appearances in public. rarely found in the wild, theser very special, very cute cubs are almost always born in captivity. no names yet. zoo officials are looking for visiting children to suggest names. an amazing sight captured on camera in israel. thousands of migrating cranes found a home for winter. the regular food supply in

warmer temperatures keep them happy until spring arrives. environmentalists feed the birds in an effort to protect local crops. >> i have never seen that. >> quite a sight. and who says you can't go home? bon jovi said it and now is selling his new york home for $42 million. quite a mark-up seeing as the 7,500 square foot apartment only cost him $24 million in 2007. it may be worth it. five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two kitchens, not to mention the private rooftop patio with a killer view. i wouldn't mind going home to that. >> he won't get $42 million. >> in this economy it might be tough. >> 2007, i'll pay $40. that's it. top line. >> that's it. time for a look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. final word should come today for the faa on which airport control towers will be closed. the closings come with the loss of $600 billion in sequestration

cuts at the f.a.a. the agency release add list of 200 towers facing potential closure. and happy birthday to reese witherspoon. she turns 37 today. here's a look at what's coming up on the "today" show. a live report on whether pope francis could be rethinking the church's stance on celibacy based on a past admission of his. and how a new beyonce song is stirring controversy. keep it here for local weather, news, sports and more. thanks for watching "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a great one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. . . good morning. live in the south bay, southbound 280, part of it, shut down after a fatal hit and run. we'll have that story coming up. president obama continues his tour of the middle east this morning. we will get to the latest on that trip coming up. the new plan to fill m.c. storefronts in san jose. right now, a live look outside at the bay bridge. feel good about yourself right now. it is friday out there. indeed, friday, march 22 pd, th this is "today in the bay." good morning. it is 4:30 on the nose. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia cannon. lots to get to, including breaking news in the south bay. the coroner has now been called out to san jose after a body is found in the roadway. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live on the scene with what is happening right now.

good morning, bob. >> reporter: you have three lanes of southbound 280 because of this body. we are still waiting for the coroner to arrive on the scene. it is hard to get an eta of when this will be reopened. chp is saying it could be another 45 minutes. that will depend on when the coroner arrives. a call came in around 3:15. people driving down southbound 280 saw the body in the middle of the road. the paramedics came on the scene and declared this person deceased. it is considered to be a hit and run. chp right now does not have any witnesses, does not know who did this. >> after 3:00 this morning, about 3:14, received a call that there was a ped in the roadway. the units responded and located a female in the roadway. fire department